WordPress has many advantages and some disadvantages. Dealing with these downsides, however, is simply a matter of finding an affordable and experienced WordPress developer to help.
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) on the planet. Thanks to its flexibility and affordability, it now supports major websites such as Facebook, Disney, and the New Yorker.
So what could possibly be wrong with WordPress? The short answer: Nothing that can't be fixed with a little website support.
The longer answer is below, where we highlight not so much problems as challenges that make it important for businesses to embrace professional WordPress support to help them create a site that will serve their business well.
Security Concerns
WordPress' basic security is strong, and regular security updates ensure ongoing patching of any vulnerabilities that do pop up.
However, there are security concerns that businesses need to be aware of when using WordPress.
Plugins and Templates
With plugins and templates numbering in the tens of thousands, it can be easy to accidentally choose one that has security weaknesses or that isn't regularly updated by the developer. These can create gateways for security breaches that affect your entire site.
Security Updates
Even themes and plugins that receive regular updates can lead to security breaches if you fail to install the updates. Some businesses find it difficult to keep up with these patches, particularly if they use many plugins that each require their own updates.
You can ensure the security of your WordPress site by hiring the services of a professional website developer. This professional can help in the following ways:
- Helping you to identify and choose secure themes and plugins
- Minimizing the number of themes and plugins you have to use to achieve your desired functionality
- Conducting regular updates and security patches
Cookie Cutter Templates
Your business is unique, so your website should be too. A one-of-a-kind website will help you stand out against your competition more effectively.
WordPress offers thousands of templates to use, but you still run the risk of creating a site that looks a lot like other websites out there.
The best way to ensure a unique website is to build a customized one. Fortunately, you can do that with WordPress, if you hire a professional WordPress developer. They can customize your template to suit your business so your site looks exactly like you and no one else.
Coding Requirements
Setting up a basic WordPress site is easy and may only take a few minutes. Try to dig any deeper, however, and you are likely to need coding knowledge. This can make it harder to customize your template or to complete other tasks.
Don't struggle to learn code yourself. Hire a WordPress developer who speaks WordPress' language (PHP) and can make any changes you require. Hiring someone with coding expertise also makes it easier for you to customize your site, add functionality, and create a streamlined site that meets your specific business needs.
Regular Backups
Regular backups of your website are a necessity. If your site ever does crash or become the victim of hacking, you will need to use your backups to restore your site quickly.
Because WordPress is an open-source software (Meaning that its code is free and available to anyone), you will not receive automatic backups of your site.
This isn't necessarily a problem. You just have to plan to backup your site yourself. You will either need to arrange for your own backups or choose a service (There are a number of free ones) to regularly store your site on the cloud.
Routine Maintenance
A WordPress website, as does any website, requires ongoing maintenance. Since WordPress is open source and free, you will need to either conduct the maintenance yourself or hire someone to do it for you.
Some maintenance tasks you should plan to complete include the following
- Installing updates
- Upgrading plugins and functionality
- Optimizing site speed
- Maintaining links and pages
- Refreshing content
- Refreshing design and images
- And More
Unless you want to spend the time to complete these tasks yourself (and have the know-how to do it), you may want to outsource this work to a WordPress developer.
Site Speed
A fast website is important because consumers expect pages to load in a matter of 3 seconds or less. Even 1-second delays in load speed can make measurable differences in conversion rates. A slow website can even affect how search engines perceive your site and, therefore, where they rank your site in the search results.
WordPress websites require monitoring and optimization in order to load quickly. You need someone who understands code and site performance to remove bloat from the code and streamline the loading process.
Again, this is a problem that is easily resolved with an experienced WordPress developer who can implement best practices for maximizing your page load speed.
The Distinct Difference: How We Can Help
The advantages of creating a WordPress website definitely outweigh the cons. The downsides to WordPress are, in fact, less a matter of actual problems and more a matter of getting the right person involved in your website design.
Here at Distinct, we offer professional WordPress development services. We can handle everything from customizing your site to installing plugins, adding functionality, providing backups, and maintaining your site over the long term.
The biggest advantage to using Distinct for your WordPress website, however, is our small business focus. We don't just churn out your site for exorbitant prices. We carefully personalize your site to your business needs, and we do so for an affordable price that takes your small business budget into account.
If you want to learn more about our personalized, affordable, and small-business focused services, reach out to us today. We have many happy customers successfully using WordPress websites that are customized, beautiful, and effective, and we can do the same for you.
